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Sports Briefs, Dec. 3, 2013

Heading into RMAC play, the Colorado Mesa University women’s basketball team moved up in the national polls again this week.

The Mavericks (4-0) are ranked fifth in the USA Today/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association rankings, up from No. 7. Mesa received 596 points in the voting.

Bentley (Mass.) University (7-0) remained No. 1, with 29 of 31 first place votes. Gannon (Pa.) University (6-0) is second and got the other two first-place votes. Colorado Mesa is the only RMAC team in the rankings.

Youth Basketball

Thunder Valley wins UNC tourney

The Thunder Valley Mavs basketball team won the Power to Play UNC Turkey Challenge 7th grade boys championship last weekend in Greeley.

The tournament featured teams from five states.

Kyle Mock of Delta led Thunder Valley in scoring. Sebastian Campbell, Blake Andersen, Beau Thornton, Zach Rush and Levi Prall of Grand Junction and Marcus Lee, Kaden King and Ryan Kirby of Fruita are also on the team. Jeremy Campbell, Jack Andersen and Trent Prall coach the Mavs.

Minor League Baseball

Two GJ Rockies make Topps team

Raimel Tapia and Ryan McMahon led the Grand Junction Rockies into the Pioneer League playoffs last summer and the two made the Topps Short Season A/Rookie All-Star team.

Tapia, a center fielder who won the batting title (.357) in the Pioneer League, was the Topps player of the year in the Pioneer League and made the All-Star team. Tapia led all short-season players with 92 hits and was in the top 10 in slugging, extra-base hits, doubles and triples. The 19-year-old from San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, was signed by the Rockies in 2010 as a free agent.

McMahon, the GJ Rockies’ third baseman, also made the Topps All-Star team after finishing second among short-season players in slugging percentage and on-base percentage. He was in the top 10 among Short Season A/Rookie players in RBI, extra-base hits and home runs. McMahon, 18, was the Rockies’ second-round pick in the June draft.